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Major League Baseball has, for months now, been seeking additional information regarding the Miami Biogenesis clinic linked to performance enhancing drugs, and the players that the clinic has allegedly serviced. You may recall that this all started with a report out of Miami back in January that a variety of players had received PEDs from the clinic, and escalated with additional players linked to the clinic over the ensuing weeks. From there, MLB sought documents about the clinic, even going so far as to begin a lawsuit to try and get access to them. Why? Because MLB wanted to use the documentation as the basis for suspensions.

It didn’t seem likely to succeed for a variety of reasons, and no one really believed that suspensions would be handed down on the basis of anything short of a positive test.

Until now.

ESPN’s Outside the Lines is reporting that MLB does indeed plan to suspend approximately 20 players for taking performance enhancing drugs, with the players’ connection to the Biogenesis clinic as the predicate. Among the names reportedly involved are Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colon, Nelson Cruz, and Yasmani Grandal. Sources say MLB might try to suspend Rodriguez and Braun for 100 games for multiple offenses.

There are no Cubs currently identified in connection with these looming suspensions, but not all of the names are known yet.

And there could be more than 20 players suspended when everything shakes out. That’s because the reason MLB is ready to move forward is that they’ve now got Tony Bosch – the man behind Biogenesis – cooperating. He could name more names. OTL says that Bosch will meet with MLB officials within a week, and suspensions could come down a couple weeks thereafter. You’re going to want to read that OTL report to get a foundational sense of what’s going on.

For real, I always felt like his skirting responsibility was a major FU to Kemp, unless Kemp turns up on the list one has to inquire about a racial bias in those MVP deliberations.

Melrosepad

Didn’t Grandal just get back this week from a 50 game suspension?

EvenBetterNewsV2.0

Can they really get him for double jeopardy? I mean, if he takes the defense this is where he got his PED’s, and this is why he failed the test. Just curious to hear what Brett thinks about this, since it is up his alley.

A_Mazz_Ing

So can we knock Feldman’s ERA down a little more for any Braun RBIs? #TradeValue

SirCub

I like where your heads at.

JOE

^ This made me laugh a lot more than it probably should have

Cyranojoe

Brilliant!

hansman1982

That will be the rest of the season, and if it’s a few weeks from now, a chunk of the post-season for some of these guys.

SirCub

Love it. Regardless of who is effected, it’s just great to see the crack down.

I love marmol

Affected…sheesh!

Die hard

Hope u marked my post that Cubs could be buyers if Braun suspended and Brewers affected– may be true if Castro put on DL and Barney to SS bring up Watkins

According to OTL sources, he received only legal/non-banned substances.

@cubsfantroy

According to the report, Gio got legal supplements. Whether that is true or not, no one really knows at this time.

Rebuilding

One aspect of this is that they are also going after guys that weren’t entirely truthful about their dealing with BioGenesis. If Gio lied about dealing with them, even if what he got was legal, there might be some repercussions

EvenBetterNewsV2.0

He was actually one of the most vocal people when the initial report came out. That is why it has been known he took only legal supplements since the initial report.

Cheryl

It’s the only way to get the point across, but I’m afraid some players will still do the PEDs rote and say the problem isn’t with PEDs but being caught.

Cubfanbob

Maybe Cruz suspended opens the door for Sori to Texas

http://www.bleachernation.com Luke

I wondered how long this would take.

Abe Froman

Luke, are you saying that about the crack down or about someone bringing up how this may effect the Cubs trade candidates? I am first a Cubs fan and since there isn’t a tragedy involved, just cheaters getting their due, I am most interested also in how it may impact the Cubs.

http://www.bleachernation.com Luke

The crackdown.

Talk about this story went dead silent a few months ago. Too silent for nothing to be happening. I’ve suspected for awhile now that something like this was going to come down eventually.

Abe Froman

Gotcha, yea it was rumored and then went dead, the plot thickens. I am myopically intrigued in how this may incrementally impact the Cubs trade candidates.

http://www.bleachernation.com Luke

If some of those 100 game verdicts come down there definitely could be an impact.

I totally agree I am just glad that the list is not as extensive as it was rumored in February and March.

Rcleven

If it took a year for Braun to escape now multiply that by 20. Once charges from MLB become official it will still go to arbitration.

Die hard

Gray could be first suspended even before drafted!!!

caryatid62

False.

Die hard

Not the first? Who was?

caryatid62

Players not in MLB cannot be suspended by MLB. It’s patently illegal, and would be thrown out immediately by any arbitrator or court.

Your point was utterly false.

Die hard

What about collective bargaining agreement which is underpinning of draft! Did you read every section? If can bind amateurs to draft restrictions then why not sanctions for violating MLB rules ? He can be drafted signed on condition suspended for first 6 months

caryatid62

No he can’t. You cannot be suspended for something you did when you were not part of the organization. The league would be sued immediately.

It cannot happen.

There is literally no way it can happen.

End of story.

Die hard

Yep – end of discussion // that works every time

caryatid62

It’s not a discussion.

What you proposed is LITERALLY impossible under the rules of baseball and our legal system. It cannot legally happen. I’m confused by why you think it’s even an arguable point. It’s not.

It. Can’t. Happen.

http://www.bleachernation.com Luke

It’s Die Hard. He spouts random inaccurate nonsense all the time.

You’ve got the record corrected so that he won’t confuse anyone who wanders; don’t worry about it from there.

hansman1982

It’d just be best if people just didn’t correct the Die Hard record.

http://www.bleachernation.com Luke

We do get new readers on here who may not be immune to him yet. I’d hate to think he accidentally corrupts anyone into believing him.

hansman1982

Eh, he’d fade back into obscurity again.

Are we talking about him behind his back on an internet comments section?

http://www.bleachernation.com Luke

Nah. I assume he’s reading these and patting himself on the back for scratching another square off his Internet troll bingo card.

hansman1982

YAHTZEE!!!!

caryatid62

I’m actually impressed by his commitment, to be honest. It’s like refusing to recognize gravity. At a certain point, you just gotta be amazed by the dedication to absurdity.

DarthHater

Yep – obstinately repeat utter BS you made up then try to change the subject // works every time

scorecardpaul

stop responding to die hard he is only trying to be stupid. That is all he ever is.

hansman1982

It worked for a while, then, about 3-4 months ago, it became hip again to respond…the rest is Die Hard 2: Even Dumber and Dumbererer

Danny Ballgame

I hope they do. It is hard to enjoy a league that has not been real for 15+ years. Give em all 162 games to think about it. let’s clean up the game

Rebuilding

I’m really happy MLB is going hard after this. Almost all of us love the numbers of the game and those were destroyed in many ways during the steroid era. I really hope the baseball writers strip Braun of his MVP and I wish MLB would void any and all season statistics where it’s reasonably shown a player used

caryatid62

This whole thing is stupid.

BT

Why?

caryatid62

Because there is way too much time devoted to developing some kind of investigative wing of MLB dedicated to carrying out police-style investigations into player behavior. If a player fails a test, he should be penalized. Spending significant time and resources to investigate the purchases made by players, including getting independent citizens to “flip” on players is, at least for me, a step beyond what is appropriate for a professional organization or business to do, especially one with an anti-trust exemption from the government.

Rebuilding

That’s an interesting take and I understand what you’re saying. But this information came to light in a federal investigation. It’s kind of hard for them to turn a blind eye given the past. You’re right – getting someone to flip is pretty close to the line though

caryatid62

As far as I can tell, this information came from a newspaper investigation, not a federal investigation.

Furthermore, this strikes me as extortion:

“In exchange for Bosch’s full cooperation, sources said, Major League Baseball will drop the lawsuit it filed against Bosch in March; indemnify him for any liability arising from his cooperation; provide personal security for him and even put in a good word with any law enforcement agency that might bring charges against him.”

Essentially, MLB has, through it’s connections to the government as well as its finances, gotten a person to provide information on it’s players, which it will suspend based almost solely upon this testimony (As the article states, there is no corroboration for most of this information).

At the bare minimum, this is disturbing.

BT

The alternative is to continue to let players skirt the rules with no fear of being caught. People, almost to a man, consistently lament in all sports about how the players are always “a step ahead” of the testers. If MLB isn’t going to make any effort, even a token one, to show that they are interested in cutting off avenues for players to cheat, then what is the point of even having the rules in place to begin with? This won’t end the problem, but it will certainly make players think twice, if they assume MLB will be this dogged in tracking down users.

caryatid62

Strawman.

It’s not MLB’s job to extort independent citizens to get information on it’s players. I’d rather have ever player juice than know that the league can simply exert police power over not only it’s players, but private citizens as well.

BT

I don’t think you understand the concept of “strawman”.

You said you didn’t think MLB should be spending time investigating players. The “flipping” of citizens was a sidenote, and secondary to your point. My argument is that, yes, MLB should be investigating, if they are indeed serious about backing up their policies. Your arguments about extortion came about AFTER I responded.

caryatid62

I don’t think you actually understand what was primary and what was secondary in my argument.

And your strawman was created when you identified a false alternative of “letting players skirt the rules,” when no one, in fact, ever made that argument. Furthermore, the idea that we either accept this form of enforcement or we’re “letting the players skirt the rules” is, furthermore, a false choice.

BT

Yeah, that’s a load of crap. Arguing the outcome of following your prescribed plan of action is not a straw man argument. By that definition, EVERY argument is a straw man. Skirting the rules was my theory of the outcome if the MLB doesn’t investigate.

In your world:

caryatid62: “Svuem should have brought in Marmol”
bt: “If he brought in Marmol, he would have walked the bases loaded”
caryated62: “That’s a straw man argument. No one made the argument that Marmol was going to walk the bases loaded”.

caryatid62

That’s a false analogy, but whatever. We’re nowhere near the original point of the post, so it’s not really worth discussing. Gonna move on.

mudge

Alex Rodgriguez. Home run record more and more a mirage. Good.

hansman1982

I remember a few years back, Yankee fans were getting themselves all in a tizzy about him breaking the record.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Serious Cubs Fan

Any idea how this could affect the trade market? Texas losing Nelson Cruz + the need for another starting pitcher = (Garza or Feldman)/Soriano Trade?

5412

Hi,

This story sent my bullshit meter into orbit. I read on another sports website that Hal Steinbrenner publically said how disappointed he was in Alex Rodriguez. He went on to say that all young people make mistakes and he hoped he would fulfill the remainder of his contract in true Yankee tradition. The article then went on to outline just how many millions ARod is still owed by the Yankees.

Then this magically appeared a few minutes later. It looks to me like MLB is trying to figure out a way to legally get out of paying a lot of the high priced contracts they have agreed to. In other words they want to protect themselves from their own stupidity, yet blame it on the player’s stupidity.

I hope they lose on this one as it appears very circumstantial. In other words, if you passed all the drug tests then you are OK. That is hard evidence. If you get nailed based on circumstantial evidence, then negotiate that into the union contract. When you think about it the company could easily lie on documents and the athlete has no recourse. It is not the same as failing a drug test.

Now in the case or Braun, different story. He got off on a technicality. I would test him evry damn day if I could.

It is very seldom I side with the players when it comes to drug related issues but this is bullshit looking for a place to happen.

regards,
5412

Carew

I just have to say, this posted gave me a smile. Sir, you are one cool dude.

5412

Thank you!

ssckelley

Never mind the idiots that agreed to pay them this kind of money. I hope the Yankees have to eat every damn dime of ARod’s contract.

Abe Froman

No. There are not stipulations in their contracts that void them for testing positive for steroids, so no. No conspiracy. Just going after guys cheating with suspensions, the teams are still on the hook for their contracts.

5412

Hi,

Help me understand. Every other time we see a player suspended by the league, don’t they lose money for every game? I thought that was part of the standard contract. Didn’t Manny and Conseco lose a ton of money?

Regards,
5412

Abe Froman

They may lose half a season, but not their entire contract. Big difference.

Abe Froman

By ‘half a season’ I refer to the number of games they are suspended.

5412

100 games for ARod at $25 million is $15.5 million, that buys a lot of younger players. If they nail him again isn’t lifetime suspension going to follow? With his endorsements he would retire to save what he could.

Regards,
5412

Abe Froman

You think the MLB would stake its entire reputation on going after ARod so the Yankees can pocket $16 mil? They (MLB) have a lot more on the line if it is known there is a giant conspiracy to placate owners after still cleaning up after the entire steroid era. It is a straight forward case of some guys breaking the rules and the league cracking down accordingly.

Die hard

Huh? MLB is an anti trust exempt monopoly that can do anything it wants— which is why the rest of the world who gives their kids to America needs to wake up and start their own league with competitive salaries so players like Cabrera will make as much staying home

Abe Froman

How would that work? Other countries need to magically create economies equal to the US? Guys are breaking the rules, in the past a blind eye was turned, but the last decade has shifted the tides and now it is. Hypocritical yes, but there is not a conspiracy.

5412

Hi,

They have conspired against the players in the past. What we are really discussing is their motive behind this whole thing.

It isn’t to save the Yankees $15 million but hopefully to cause some of these guys to go away like Manny did.

Regards,
5412

EvenBetterNewsV2.0

Ryan Braun and Alex Rodriguez have embarrassed Bud. Ryan was the posterboy for the post steroid era, then got caught. Bud actually singled him out as a modern, post steroid player, and he gets caught. Then worse than that, he gets away on a technicality. Alex is the posterboy for what Bud has been trying to rid the game of for 15 years. That is his motivation.

Abe Froman

Manny was at the end of his career. ARod has a TON of money left on his deal, why would he walk away from that?

EvenBetterNewsV2.0

Yeah, the only way the Yanks are getting out of that is if they appeal to MLB for him getting suspended multiple times. It was said when this report came out for the first time they were looking into their options. It would be hard to null and void those contracts.

EvenBetterNewsV2.0

This comes down to 2 figures Selig has had a hard on for, for a while not the Yanks.

cubchymyst

I’ve got mixed feelings about this. If there is a first hand account and documentation of these players taking PED then they are likely guilty and deserving of a suspension. However, starting to suspending players without a positive test can create the possibility of suspensions coming from he said, he said situations. I’d rather see the MLB use this as an opportunity to strength the testing to catch players.

Rich H

They can’t “strengthen the testing”. That is all negotiated in the CBA. So they have to try and get ahead of designer PED’s this way right now. Is it bad? Yes. Is it necessary? That will be probably be for an arbitrator to decide.

Cheryl

Doesn’t it depend on what’s in those documents? If its he said, he said, that’s different. But it depends on exactly what they have on these players. If a banned substance is bought by a player and there’s witnesses to the transaction, plus some sort of evidence in written form to backup the accusation I can’t see how MLB can bury their heads in the sand and ignore it.

5412

Hi,

Just because they bought it does not mean they took it unless it is corroborated by positive tests.

Regards,
5413

Die hard

Yep – the didn’t inhale defense- may still work

Coop

I would prefer enforcement through testing and scientific evidence, but the sad thruth is testing can’t keep up with the drug development industry. And I hate PED use and how it has completely bastardized the historical statistics of the game. In this case we sort of have two forms of evidence – the meticulous notes and corroborating testimony. Granted, they both come from the same person, but I still find it compelling.

Plus, I hate Ryan Braun and want to see him get his due…

YourResidentJag

I like Dave Cameron’s tweet, Braun and Rodriguez might get headlines but it might be Perralta’s suspension that has biggest impact.

Rebuilding

The Tigers literally have no one else to really play SS. Maybe the Barney stove just heated up

Mr.Boring

Hollandsworth needs this gig full time. So much easier to listen to. Steroids in baseball??????? no way!

Diesel

Yeah I have been thinking that myself. From the get go I have enjoyed listening to him doing commentary

Don

Finally looks like Bud Selig is doing his job!! Long over due!!

Die hard

Yea but the devil is in the details — if gives in a little you can be sure his next option was uglier like who knows? Criminal activity perhaps?

Saving Grace

The Cubs could draft Gray with the 2nd pick and Aaron Blair of Marshall with the 41st pick
That would give them both of the guys busted for adderall

Die hard

Given Stewart Hairston Jackson why not ? Jump in the waters fine

Die hard

Hope this doesn’t mean Cubs won’t install Jumbotron!– what better way to keep track of all suspended players between innings — as public service announcement to kids to just say no to drugs while half the fans in the stands are legally drunk

Die harder

You sir, are my hero! I really mean that.

Die harder

You sir, are my hero! I really mean that.

clay

Oh I hope Braun is suspended. Tired of hearing the Brewers fans excuses of how he was innocent cause his piss was dirty due to “wrongful storage”.

jj

Baseball does not need a failed test to punish, where it has strong unrebuted evidence. Would those who demand a test really object to suspending a player (a) videotaped taking PEDs or (b) who admits it, if there is no failed test? Outside of baseball consider L Armstrong, who miraculously passed tests but is (now) an admitted PED abuser of the highest order.

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